Facebook, for keeping up with your friends

Kevin Smith, Business Insider

The number one social network in the world is still trying to figure its place in the mobile world. Facebook has an app for almost every platform. Until recently, Facebook was a slow, clunky experience on the iPhone and iPad. But the company's latest update is noticeably faster and lets you upload photos almost immediately.

There's still a lot of work to go, but Facebook's newest apps are a step in the right direction.

Google+, a way to connect with your friends via your Google Account

Steve Kovach, Business Insider

Google+ is the search giant's social network. And it happens to have a very excellent mobile app for Android and iOS.

A neat feature is the ability to video chat with up to 9 friends with mobile Hangouts. And if video isn't your thing, the app allows you to chat with a friend or all your friends at once with the text-based Messenger

Imo.im, for chatting on all popular instant messaging services

Imo.im is a convenient way to stay on top of your instant message conversations.

The app is available for all major mobile phones and allows you to keep in touch with friends through Facebook Chat, Google Talk, Skype, MSN, ICQ/AIM, Yahoo, Jabber, Hyves, VKontakte, Myspace, and Steam.

LinkedIn, for keeping up with your professional contacts

LinkedIn

LinkedIn's mobile app provides an excellent way to keep up with more than 175 million members worldwide. The app is well designed, syncs with your phone's calendar to help stay on top of meetings, and even lets you view and save recommended jobs.

Pinterest, for sharing photos of things you love with friends

Pinterest has taken the world by storm. The social network encourages you to find things you're interested in and "pin" them to your virtual pinboard. Friends and fans can then follow along and comment or re-pin your items.

Just recently, the network released Android and iPad versions of its popular app.

WhatsApp Messenger, for sending free text messages over the web

WhatsApp is a cross-platform, real time mobile messenger. WhatsApp is an excellent alternative to text messaging because there is no cost to message and stay in touch with your friends. Think of it as a version of Apple's iMessage or RIM's BBM that will work across any device.